Raise the Hammer

Comment 60052

So, coming back to the author's original piece way above on this page!

What struck Ryan as a strongly positive development in Spec's transition from a traditional media mindset to an online mindset--struck me as a belated attempt by a well informed news organization to bestow power to the crowds--after having managed to willfully snatch the very same power, from the very same people, less than a year ago.

How in the hell did all this turn into a battle for online votes, and user identity preferences, is anyone's guess!

In spite of Ryan's optimistic outlook towards the Spec story, this thread's far from happy ending, surely must have left Paul Berton scratching his head at the unpredictability of the online environment! Although he must have definitely heaved a sigh of relief knowing that the cynical outlook story did not get any traction at all on RTH :-)

A possible spin-off story idea for the Spec--from these two divergent views of their original story, could be: an in-depth investigation into how last years real world voting issue and this years virtual world voting issue may possibly have some correlation with identity preferences and the coming of age of free speech in Hamilton!

To end this thought on the subject of 'voting' on a happy note - here is a fun story of how up/down votes are used to fire up the passions for... the Arts:

"ArtPrize" -- A radically open art competition, giving away the world's largest art prize. Part arts festival, part social experiment - this international art contest is decided solely on a public vote. ArtPrize 2011 will take place from September 21 to October 9.

Up and Down Vote for the ArtPrize Explained:

"There are two vote tallies. One is a simple popular vote tally to determine the winner of ArtPrize. This tally has been, and continues to be, based on the artist that receives the most number of votes–the up votes. While it’s not tied to who will win ArtPrize, the concept of tallying down votes is extremely important to us. We will use the data collected from all votes daily (both up and down) to display which works are the most controversial and create the most discussion as a way for the public to enter into that dialogue, so it’s not lost."

"Imagine seeing a piece that was voted down and overlooked for one reason or another suddenly having a following defending why it should win. This is the conversation ArtPrize is all about."

And here is a very interesting comment in response to above, by Vanka:

"...You either love a piece of art or hate it…or maybe have no feelings about it at all…maybe you kinda’ like it or maybe it’s just not your taste. But actually walking around and seeing a piece you don’t like and then feeling some satisfaction or purpose in voting it down…odd…what can be gained about teaching kids this way of thinking? ... Pressing a button on your iphone saying “I hate this piece of art sooo much that I’m going to take time to vote it down” isn’t dialog…instead it’s pointless, mean spirited and frankly, completely ironic to a contest that is supposed to be celebrating art..."